Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953)

A crash course on the history of Western musical instruments.

Directors:

Ward Kimball, Charles A. Nichols

Writer:

Dick Huemer (story)

Stars:

Loulie Jean Norman, Charlie Parlato, Thurl Ravenscroft

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Loulie Jean Norman	...	Penelope Pinfeather (voice) (uncredited)
Charlie Parlato	...	Chorus (voice) (uncredited)
Thurl Ravenscroft	...	The Mellomen, singing group (voice) (uncredited)
Bill Thompson	...	Professor Owl / Bertie Birdbrain (voice) (uncredited)
Gloria Wood	...	Susy Sparrow (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

In this short subject (which mostly represents a departure from Disney's traditional approach to animation), a stuffy owl teacher lectures his feathered flock on the origins of Western musical instruments. Starting with cavepeople, whose crude implements could only "toot, whistle, plunk and boom," the owl explains how these beginnings led to the development of the four basic types of Western musical instruments: brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion.

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Plot Keywords:

musical instrument | owl | teacher | caveman | anthropomorphism | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adventures in Music: Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shown as an accompanying short subject along with the 1963 re-release of Fantasia.

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Quotes

Owl: Today we're going to study about...
Boy bird: [looking at a comic book] Ancient history?
Susy Sparrow: Love and mystery?
Penelope Pinfeather: [writing on the blackboard] Mathematics?
Twin brothers: [balancing other students on their heads] Acrobatics?
Students: Readin', spellin'...
Bertie Birdbrain: Storytellin'?
Owl: No, no, no!
[bops Bertie on the head]
Owl: The study of musical instruments is the subject for today.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Mouse Factory: Music (1972)

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Soundtracks

"A Toot And A Whistle And A Plunk And A Boom"
Written by Sonny Burke & Jack Elliott

User Reviews

Greatly entertaining and educational

The other reviewers are correct, this is a great little movie. I remember watching it on a 16mm projector in jr hi music class. I'm glad to have it on DVD (bonus feature on Fantasia 2000) to share with my kids.

I would make one clarification. This movie is not about music history, but rather the principal characteristics of each family of musical instruments.

Toot = Brass Family / Whistle = Woodwind Family / Plunk = String Family / Boom = Percussion Family

This is a great introduction to musical instruments.